A bored photographer plays with her food
PRETTIED-UP TAKEOUT MEALS HELP BORED PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER COPE WITH SHUTDOWN
There are two things that Ute-Christin Cowan loved — her job taking pictures of newborn babies and going out to eat.
Unfortunately, the Milford resident can’t do either of those right now. She temporarily closed her photography business March 15, due to the COVID-19 pandemic (it’s not really possible to take an intimate picture of a tiny baby while socially distancing). Closing the business means she’s had to give up her other passion as well.
“We always go out to eat, but I thought, ‘Maybe since I’m not making any money, I shouldn’t do that,’ ” Cowan says.
But she saw the struggles her favorite restaurants were going through, as they were forced to offer stripped-down, takeout or delivery-only services to protect themselves and consumers during the pandemic. Cowan knew they were losing money, just as she was.
“It just seemed like everybody was suffering,” Cowan says.
She wanted to help in some way, using her skills as a photographer. Then Cowan had an idea. With the help of a friend, she got takeout or delivery from more than a dozen of her favorite spots — sort of a final farewell to restaurant food. But she didn’t just eat these delicacies.
First, Cowan photographed them, in a way that only she could. “I thought it would be fun to dress (the foods) up as if they were babies,” she says.
A personal pizza was nestled in a wreath adorned with flowers. A basket of fries was set inside an actual basket, along with a couple bottles of soda, one of which was decorated with a trio of baby necklaces.
A grilled cheese sandwich was given a tiara. Hot dogs were wrapped in baby blankets. A ring of bagels were nested together in a ring surrounded by pastel fabrics.
For Cowan, it was a tongue-incheek way to pay tribute to her favorite restaurants while also practicing the craft she loves. As an added bonus, she got to eat the food when she was done.
“That was a good day,” she says.
Cowan posted her photos online and they were soon picked up by media outlets all over the country, including Today.com and PopSugar. Even a web site in Australia picked up her story.
Most importantly, the project has been a hit with the eateries she featured, including Devine’s Bagels & Cafe, which provided an adorably wrapped ring of bagels. Jennifer Devine, whose family owns the business, says Cowan did the newborn shoot for Devine’s now 4-year-old twins, and that she was pleased to see her business’s baked goods get the same glamorized treatment as her kids.
“I love how she’s still supporting the community and local restaurants through photography,” Devine says. “It’s funny that my bundles of joy are now bundles of bagels.”
Jonathan Gibbons, owner of
Fryborg, provided the fries and sodas that ended up snuggled in a basket in one of Cowan’s images. Like Devine, Gibbons is moved by both Cowan’s support and creativity.
“I think it’s amazing,” he says. “It’s very cute. (Cowan has) been one of our biggest fans and supporter for a long time, since I first opened. When she was doing photo shoots, she’d recommend our food to her clients.”
Meanwhile, Cowan doesn’t know what the future holds, for her business or for her favorite takeout joints. She’s not even sure what her long-term plans are for her glamorous photos. But, right now, she’s kind of at the “enjoying doing nothing” phase of selfquarantine, and hanging onto that for as long as it lasts.
“I never get to just sit and watch TV,” she says. “I’m always editing, so I just listen to it.”